Friday, April 15, 2016

I've been surprised to see so many of my Salvia blooming this Spring: I don't remember that from prior years? Might be due to our non-Winter Winter, or just my bad memory.

I didn't capture pictures of all of them, just the one that surprised me the most:

Salvia Van Houttei

My Blue Elf Aloe bloomed faithfully as it does every Spring, although my Aloe striata (if that's really what it is) hasn't bloomed since we moved here 2 years ago. Not enough sun?

Blue Elf Aloe

These Aloe striata(?) at the base of the Yucca were magnificent in my old garden. What gives?

My Iris have seemed hesitant this Spring...but Dashing and Polished Manners have popped up everywhere! (I'd swear I bought more variety from Schreiner's??)

Dashing Iris

Polished Manners Iris

My Patio Peach is coming back! Fingers crossed I get little peaches this year (like I did last year) and they survive to be eaten (unlike last year - this time I won't leave the gate open and let the deer eat them).

Peach blooms with Valentine Rose

And I saved the best for last: my Canna Wyoming is blooming!

Canna Wyoming, on a salad bed of Salvia

I'd had them in the front garden, and the *#@$%! deer ate the blooms before I ever got to enjoy them. I moved a few to the back, and even though it's shadier I'd say they're definitely happier. I know I am!

In other exciting news, my passalong Castor Bean has bloomed! I'll need to move it to the new side bed outside the fence so Daisy doesn't eat the seeds, but for now we're both pleased about where it is and what it's doing. (Me and the plant; Daisy doesn't much care.)

Castor Bean bloom!

Happy Garden Blogger's Bloom Day, everyone! Tremendous thanks to Carol at May Dreams Gardens for hosting this every month! I can't wait to see what's blooming for everyone else.

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

I've been contemplating (for what seems like forever) removal of the St. Augustine on the left side of the house, and planting lots of drought-tolerant stuff.

The tipping-point was my trip to Phoenix back in February: I was stunned by the beauty of the cacti, agaves, and aloes.

An elegant and sculptural Palo Verde on the grounds of our hotel

The Desert Botanical Garden

Organ Pipe cactus

Octopus cactus (Stenocereus alamosensis)

Argentine Giant cactus (Echinopsis candicans)

Unknown cactus

Aloes and lavender on the hotel grounds

Unknown aloe, with 'Blue Flame' in the background?

Aloes at the Desert Botanical Garden

Blue Glow agave, lining the driveway to the hotel.

Agave 'Blue Glow' collage

I came home to Austin wanting to re-create all of it in my sunniest, hottest spot.

My sticking point has been the drainage situation: you might recall that it's the side of the house where all the water runs from the back yard to the street (see posts here and here). I didn't want to plant a bunch of really cool xeric stuff only to watch it rot.

I mentally debated a dry creek bed leading from the gate to the street, but then someone explained to me that I'd need to pull all the rocks out every 5 years or so, re-trench it sorta-kinda, and put all the rocks back? Um, no.

I finally decided that maybe if I put down big, wide, flat pavers the water could just run over those and I'd never have to worry about sediment build-up on/under them. Not sure if that's sound logic, but it's the logic I went with because it gave me justification for buying big, wide, flat pavers.

I pinned by brains out on Pinterest to get design ideas (what the heck did we DO before that??), emailed my landscaping guy like 30 times with different paver patterns (okay, three times), and then, with my tax refund check in hand (virtually speaking), it was time.

Before:

Getting rid of the stupid floppy hated shrubs

During:

Daisy inspecting their work

After:

My only regret is choosing 1/2 inch granite to fill in between the pavers. It. Goes. Everywhere.

I'm a little nervous that it's too high to really direct the water to the street, but I guess we'll find out!

Friday, April 1, 2016

I love the way the garden looks when it's overcast or rainy: no harsh shadows, and the colors seem more intense. I took these shots on Wednesday when it thought about raining but never really did (at least not in South Austin):